Abortion and Poverty

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department gave to the International Planned Parenthood Federation to produce the booklet 'Death and Denial: Unsafe Abortion and Poverty'.

Gareth Thomas: DFID did not make a specific grant to the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) for the production of the booklet "Death and Denial: Unsafe Abortion and Poverty". We did however ask the IPPF to produce this report when agreeing our overall core funding to the organisation, to help raise awareness of the consequences of unsafe abortion. DFID's core funding to support the work of the IPPF in 2006 is £7.5 million.

Asian Tsunami

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of funds given by his Department to assist with the recovery from the Asian tsunami have been (a) allocated and (b) spent; and what plans his Department has for the unspent funds.

Gareth Thomas: Following the tsunami, the Government allocated £75 million to meet the immediate needs of those affected. To date £68 million has been disbursed through United Nations agencies, the Red Cross Movement and non-governmental organisations such as Oxfam, Save the Children Fund, CAFOD and Help the Aged. The balance will be allocated for disaster risk reduction and early warning initiatives across the affected region. We are currently looking at proposals for programmes to utilise these funds.
	The complexity of the response and the changing situation on the ground meant that some organisations have not been able to spend funds according to their original timetable. However, where people still need help, DFID has allowed some partner organisations to extend the end date of relief programmes using DFID funds if we decide that the programmes remain appropriate.
	In circumstance where DFID judges that extending the life of a programme would be of little value to those affected by the tsunami and is not an appropriate use of UK funds we will request that the balance of the DFID grant be returned. The UK will not provide financing in advance of need as this money could be usefully spent reducing poverty and saving lives in other parts of the world.
	The Disasters Emergency Committee website (www.tsunami.dec.org.uk). contains details and an evaluation of how the major UK non-governmental organisations (NGO)s utilised the funds they were given.
	DFID will allocate £65 million to meet longer term reconstruction needs. From this amount, £60 million has been committed to Indonesia. Of the £60 million, £13.5 million has already been allocated. Some of the funds have been put into a multi-donor trust fund which provides grants for a range of reconstruction activities including housing, infrastructure, and land titling projects. Additional funds have been used to support the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)'s livelihoods programme and to support a range of smaller technical assistance packages. Of this, £13.5 million, we estimate that £12.5 million has actually been spent. It is difficult to be precise about how much of the UK funds have been spent from the Multi-Donor Fund because it is a pooled funding mechanism. The Multi-Donor Fund estimates that it will have spent $102 million of the $228 million received from donors by the end of March.
	We are looking to spend the remaining funds over the next 2 to 3 years. Our immediate priority is to support urgent livelihoods activities and other initiatives which will help to build a sustainable peace in Aceh. We have pledged an additional £20 million to the Multi-Donor Fund, but we will look to allocate this and any remaining funds as needs are identified.
	The remaining £5 million balance of the £65 million has been allocated to India and Sri Lanka. The recovery programme in Sri Lanka is fully financed, but DFID allocated £2 million to help speed up implementation of reconstruction programmes and to ensure equitable distribution of assistance. To date, £1.3 million has been spent on technical assistance and expertise. The remaining funds will be spent in 2006–07 to help people affected by the tsunami re-establish their livelihoods.
	In India technical assistance worth £3 million has been provided to help ensure effective, transparent and equitable programming of relief.

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total UK aid allocation for Burma was in each of the last five years; and how much of the allocated budget was spent.

Gareth Thomas: Over the last five years the Department of International Development (DFID) allocation for assistance and spend in to Burma has been:
	
		
			   £ million 
			  Allocation Spend 
		
		
			 2000–01 (3)— 1.39 
			 2001–02 (3)— 2.27 
			 2002–03 6.16 7.02 
			 2003–04 4 3.72 
			 2004–05 6 6.07 
		
	
	(3) no budget
	Note:
	In 2000–01 and 2001–02 there was no set budget—expenditure was in response to appeals for humanitarian assistance.
	The significant difference between allocation and spend which occurred in 2002–03 is due to the fact that DFID made faster than expected progress in the development of a programme in response to the challenge of HIV and AIDS in Burma.

Flooding (Mozambique)

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with (a) members and (b) representatives of the Government of Mozambique concerning flood-preparedness levels around the Zambesi river; what assistance has been (i) requested, (ii) pledged and (iii) delivered to respond to a flooding of the Zambesi river; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: DFID maintains close contact with Mozambique's National Institute for the Management of Natural Disasters (INGC) which is responsible for managing Mozambique's preparation for and response to flooding. We have already responded by providing £40,000 of funding to Save the Children UK to supply emergency kits to some of the people who were displaced by the floods earlier this year. We will continue to monitor the situation through the INGC to assess whether further funding is needed.

Indonesia

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid has been given to Indonesia through (a) the Global Opportunities Fund, (b) the Global Conflict Prevention Fund and (c) other sources of Government funds in the last 10 years; and whether conditions relating to (i) the promotion of religious tolerance, (ii) equality under the law and (iii) openness and transparency of government were attached to that funding.

Gareth Thomas: Assistance has been provided as follows:
	The Global Opportunities Fund (GOF) was set up in 2003–04. Since then, the UK has approved over £2.4 million bilateral expenditure to Indonesia for ongoing projects engaging with the Islamic World and Counter Terrorism assistance.
	The Global Conflict Prevention Pool, which has been operational since 2001–02 has contributed a total of £3.7 million to conflict prevention related project work in Indonesia.
	
		Bilateral aid to Indonesia over the last 10 years
		
			  Amount (£ million) 
		
		
			 1995–06 15.2 
			 1996–97 38.5 
			 1997–98 48.7 
			 1998–99 25.4 
			 1999–2000 58.5 
			 2000–01 28.2 
			 2001–02 18.1 
			 2002–03 42.6 
			 2003–04 17.4 
			 2004–05 25.5 
		
	
	Source:
	Statistics on International Development 2000–01 to 2004–05
	The figures are for aid classified as official development assistance by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the majority comes from the aid budget.
	Aid is allocated for specific purposes, including equality and governance. Individual aid allocations have not been tied to specific conditions on religious tolerance, equality under the law and openness and transparency of government. Such issues are taken into account in considering the case for aid, alongside other criteria.

Small Firms

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what definition the Department uses of a small firm.

Gareth Thomas: There is no universal definition of a small firm. While several criteria can be used to define a small firm, including annual value of sales turnover and value of capital assets, the most common defining feature is number of workers employed. DFID regards "small" firms to be those with 1 to 50 employees. Firms employing over 50 employees are considered medium-sized. In international development usage, small firms with less than 10 employees are generally termed "micro enterprises". Modern small firms differ from micro enterprises in several important respects, namely:
	They are generally full-time, permanent and legally registered businesses
	They use paid, rather than family labour
	They operate from dedicated premises separate from the household
	They possess investments in fixed assets
	They may use modern technology

Street Children

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department provides to help tackle the poverty of street children in (a) Honduras and (b) Guatemala.

Gareth Thomas: Street Children in Latin America are victims of deprivation and exclusion. Overwhelming poverty, unemployment and social dislocation leave many children with no option other than to leave home to find work and by-pass the education system. Street children are excluded from accessing key services such as health and education. They are powerless and lack supportive kinship and social networks. Many street children suffer and are at greater risk from organised violence, trafficking, sexual exploitation and HIV/AIDs.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) is assisting street children in Honduras and Guatemala through our support to the international financial institutions, the European Commission and our civil society partners. DFID is supporting the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDE) to strengthen their programmes to tackle the widespread poverty, inequality and social exclusion that forces many children on to the street. DFID assistance through the IDB has included $145,000 to build the capacity of Guatemalan non-governmental organisations and public sector officials to reintegrate street children back into society. Our contributions to the European Commission are also assisting the Commission to implement a social cohesion programme in Latin America.
	DFID contributed £1 million in 2004 to support participation of both civil society and the Government of Honduras in developing their poverty reduction strategy. The Strategy includes an analysis of child poverty and the plight of street children and commits the Government to reduce child labour, improve the quality and equity of education and improve child health coverage. DFID support to the Save the Children Fund (SCF) through a global agreement has also assisted the SCF Honduras office to work on youth justice initiatives.

Arms Exports (Iraq)

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether ministerial approval was sought for the export of 20,878 semi-automatic pistols to Iraq referred to in the "Second Quarterly Report on Strategic Export Controls 2004."

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 17 March 2006
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is responsible for issuing all export licences. The DTI Export Control Organisation carries out this function on his behalf. Information on whether ministerial approval was specifically sought in relation to individual licensing decisions is exempt from disclosure as its release would prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs.

Domestic Energy

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what programmes have been announced by the six major domestic energy supply companies to protect vulnerable customers from the impact of rising energy prices; and how many customers have been signed up for such programmes.

Malcolm Wicks: Each of the major domestic energy suppliers offer a number of programmes that assist vulnerable customers in various ways. Although information from individual suppliers about take-up of particular schemes is commercially confidential, an annex to the Government's "UK Fuel Poverty Strategy Fourth Annual Progress Report", to be published late this year, will include information about the overall impacts of company schemes in 2004 and 2005.

Domestic Energy

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the proportion of household disposable income spent on energy bills by those households earning (a) the minimum wage, (b) between the minimum wage and average income and (c) above average income in the last period for which figures are available; what assessment he has made of the likely effect on those figures of gas price increases planned in March; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of household disposable income spent on energy bills by those in the (a) bottom 20 per cent. and (b) top 20 per cent. of earners in (i) England, (ii) Wales and (iii) Scotland; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what proportion of household disposable income was spent on energy bills in households in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of household disposable income that will be spent on energy bills for households in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland after the gas price increases announced by energy companies in March 2006 come into effect; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of household disposable income that will be spent on energy bills by (a) the bottom 20 per cent. of earners and (b) the top 20 per cent. of earners in (i) England, (ii) Wales and (iii) Scotland after the gas price increases announced by energy companies in March 2006 come into effect; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Data on the proportion of household disposable income spent on energy bills is available from the Expenditure and Food Survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics. The most recent data containing full income information corresponds to 2003–04.
	It is not possible to make an assessment of the impact of these increases on households earning the minimum wage, due to the different working patterns of those individuals within this group. We do, however, have data on the proportion of household disposable income spent on energy bills by quintile and country for 2003–04 and overall by country, which is shown in the table. The proportion of income spent by the middle quintile may be thought of as a measure of average proportional spend:
	
		
			  Bottom 20 per cent. of incomes Middle 20 per cent. of incomes Top 20 per cent. of incomes All households 
		
		
			 Great Britain 5.9 2.9 1.6 2.6 
			 England 5.8 2.8 1.5 2.5 
			 Scotland 5.5 3.1 2.2 3.0 
			 Wales 5.9 3.6 1.8 3.1 
		
	
	It is not possible to work out the impact of recent energy price rises on these statistics. These price increases are likely to have increased the proportion of income spent on fuel, though. Work on the best way to tackle the impact of the price rises for those in fuel poverty in the light of rising energy prices is being taken forward in the context of the Energy Review.

Domestic Energy

Robert Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many gas and electricity suppliers have ceased trading since September 2005; how many domestic and commercial sites each supplied at the point at which they ceased trading; what assessment he has made of the impact of these closures on retail market competition; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: Since September 2005 Ofgem has revoked the supply licence and appointed a Supplier of Last Resort for five companies, these are summarised as follows:
	
		
			 Company Appointed SoLR Date of Appointment Fuel Non-domestic Supply points Domestic Supply points 
		
		
			 The Team Group of Companies npower 2 December 2005 Gas 233 14 
			 The Team Group of Companies npower 2 December 2005 Electricity 975 20 
			 Eledor Limited npower 19 December 2005 Gas 499 0 
			 Reepham British Gas 20 December 2005 Electricity 244 0 
			 Utility Link London Energy 19 January 2006 Electricity 4,433 12,066 
			 Zest 4 British Gas 4 February 2006 Electricity 0 8,444 
			 Total14,828 12,100 
		
	
	The total number of customers affected is very small compared to the size of the retail market (over 46m supply points). Based on current evidence, Ofgem does not believe that the exit of the firms listed in the table has undermined the health of retail competition.

Sellafield

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made with plans to dismantle the chimney-top filter of the Windscale I military reactor at Sellafield; and if he will make a statement.

Malcolm Wicks: We have been informed by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority that to date the following work has been completed with respect to the dismantling of the Pile 1 chimney at Sellafield (B6):
	Decontamination of the Filter Gallery, removal of filters, removals of lining material from the Filter/Diffuser section, and removal of insulation from the Concentrator section at the top of the chimney.
	Access has been created to the base of the chimney and lining material has been removed from the base and the main shaft. Decommissioning equipment (including Head Gear Platform, remote handling equipment, and access equipment) has been installed.
	Work on the chimney demolition is scheduled to continue until September 2015, at which point the stack on Pile 1 will have been taken down to the same level as the Pile 2 chimney, which is 5 metres above the main Pile cap. The dismantling of the upper filter sections of the chimney will be complete by 2012.

Small Firms

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what definition the Department uses of a small firm.

Alun Michael: The DTI uses definitions based on the European Commission Recommendation 6 May 2003 and the Companies Act 1985.
	The European Commission definition is based on headcount, turnover, balance sheet and independence criteria. A small firm is defined as having:
	Maximum headcount of 49 (employees and self-employed)
	Maximum annual turnover of €10 million (euros)
	Maximum annual balance sheet total of €10 million (euros)
	Maximum percentage owned by one or jointly owned by several enterprises not satisfying the same criteria 25 per cent.
	Use of the European Commission definition is voluntary and the UK has not implemented the EU definition for its own activities on a blanket basis. Further information on the European Commission definition can be found here:
	http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/enterprise_policy/sme__definition/index_en.htm
	The Companies Act 1985 only defines small firms for the purpose of certain exemptions from accounting and auditing requirements and is not applied universally. The definitions in the Companies Act 1985 are themselves set to the maximum allowed under European law. Amendments to the Companies Act 1985 came into force on 30 January 2004 and state that a company is 'small' if it satisfies at least two of the following criteria:
	A turnover of not more than £5.6 million
	A balance sheet total of not more than £2.8 million
	Not more than 50 employees
	Further information on the Companies Act 1985 definition can be found here:
	http://www.dti.gov.uk/cld/audit.htm
	In addition, there may be other occasions where an alternative definition of a small firm may be appropriate. For example, the DTI's "Small Firms Loan Guarantee" is open to young firms with a turnover up to £5.6 million to concentrate on those most likely to experience difficulties raising debt finance and to simplify eligibility criteria.
	The DTI definition of a small firm for official statistics publications, such as the SME Statistics for the UK, is a business having between 0 and 49 employees. DTI figures on the number of businesses by size are available at www.sbs.gov.uk/smes

Libraries

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many libraries there are in England; and how many there were in 1997.

David Lammy: The number of static public libraries in England 1997–98 and 2004–05 (most recently available figures) was as follows:
	
		Static Libraries in England Hours per week
		
			  60+ 45–59 30–44 10–29 <10 Total 
		
		
			 1997–98 6 449 1,278 1,323 157 3213 
			 2004–05 69 727 1,139 1,106 96 3137 
		
	
	Sources:
	Public Library Statistics 2004–05 Actuals, published by the Chartered Institute for Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA) & LISU Annual Library Statistics 2005 (derived from CIPFA Actuals figures 1997–98 to 2004–05).

Civil Service

Vera Baird: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on progress in increasing the number of women in the senior civil service.

Jim Murphy: The proportion of women in senior posts since 1998 has increased significantly. The civil service has met its target to double the proportion of women in top management posts (from 12.7 per cent. to 25.5 per cent. in 2005), but there is still more work to do. New and challenging targets have been set for 2008, underpinned by a Diversity 10 Point Plan; "Delivering Diverse Civil Service".

Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill

Alan Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he will publish in full the responses to the consultation on the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill.

Jim Murphy: Responses to the consultation document, "A Bill for Better Regulation", were published on the Better Regulation Executive website on 6 March 2006. Copies of the consultation responses, with the exception of the consultees who requested that their responses be kept confidential, can be found at:
	http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/regulation/bill/consultation_ responses.asp
	Copies have also been placed in the Library.

Festivals

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much public money has been made available to support the (a) West Belfast Festival and (b) Belfast Saint Patrick's Day Parade and festival in each year since its inception.

David Hanson: Details of the public monies made available to support the (a) West Belfast Festival and (b) Belfast Saint Patrick's Day Parade and festival are given in the following table.
	
		
			   £ 
			  Financial year West Belfast Festival St Patrick's Carnival 
		
		
			 1994–95 1,685 — 
			 1995–96 600 — 
			 1996–97 89,000 — 
			 1997–98 27,000 — 
			 1998–99 29,229.98 — 
			 1999–2000 47,630 32,720 
			 2000–01 80,933 2,000 
			 2001–02 290,330.41 2,000 
			 2002–03 249,224.26 7,000 
			 2003–04 382,221.15 8,900 
			 2004–05 360,037.95 — 
			 2005–06 253,417 — 
			 Total awarded 1,811,308.75 52,620 
		
	
	This information may not be complete for the following reasons:
	(a) Departments have no records of financial assistance awarded to the West Belfast Festival prior to the 1994–95 financial year.
	(b) Departments have no records of financial assistance awarded to the St. Patrick's Day Parade and festival prior to the 1999–2000 financial year.
	(c) The Northern Ireland Tourist Board has no records of financial assistance awarded to events prior to 1998–99.

Housing

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2006, Official Report, column 370W, on housing, what the total unpaid Housing Executive rent was in each district in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years; and what steps are being taken to recover outstanding amounts.

David Hanson: The total of unpaid Housing Executive rent in each district in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years from 1996 to 2005 is detailed in the following table.
	The Housing Executive inform me that the steps taken to recover outstanding amounts include a range of debt counselling/prevention procedures including arrangements through the Citizen's Advice Bureau. £11.5 million of debt is being recovered through voluntary and statutory means (including attachment to earnings and recovery from state benefits). On average NIHE recover possession of 150 properties through court action on grounds of rent arrears each year.
	
		Total NIHE rent/rates debt(5) £000
		
			  1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Belfast 1 559 525 514 558 570 662 739 687 644 593 
			 Belfast 2 510 487 472 565 588 935 980 1,001 935 855 
			 Belfast 3 549 563 527 529 546 579 584 538 514 476 
			 Belfast 4 596 560 596 699 675 983 1,036 986 1,063 993 
			 Belfast 5 508 499 476 507 547 744 887 995 1,046 1,027 
			 Belfast 6 481 477 456 465 499 622 618 592 647 591 
			 Belfast 7 689 662 675 658 697 877 905 906 972 926 
			
			 Bangor 305 312 328 387 444 601 710 819 795 733 
			 Newtownards 419 391 460 556 662 740 810 901 937 721 
			 Castlereagh 544 559 550 590 641 796 852 864 930 867 
			 Lisburn 505 460 448 541 676 891 1,069 1,020 1,006 955 
			 Lisburn 3 465 440 430 413 430 430 435 420 468 408 
			 Downpatrick 447 444 481 461 461 529 547 534 545 473 
			
			 Banbridge 221 255 242 242 312 381 381 366 364 354 
			 Newry 362 383 363 343 370 448 475 473 451 415 
			 Armagh 244 253 227 218 251 268 324 307 276 232 
			 Lurgan/B'Iow 338 311 278 276 273 345 360 341 357 361 
			 Portadown 134 141 125 168 181 230 278 290 343 335 
			 Dungannon 156 166 153 145 204 249 313 351 336 312 
			 Fermanagh 124 143 134 168 205 235 255 239 264 262 
			
			 Ballymena 222 297 264 264 292 282 320 328 316 304 
			 Antrim 379 412 391 392 424 431 452 402 367 334 
			 N'abbey 1 329 298 277 329 337 350 440 402 381 366 
			 N'abbey 2 480 394 407 446 474 472 525 452 391 354 
			 C'fergus 365 351 323 388 408 366 377 337 340 286 
			 Larne 272 228 239 267 292 325 343 327 304 248 
			 Ballycastle 95 97 89 91 89 83 88 84 92 86 
			 Ballymoney 129 124 124 140 158 144 145 144 171 158 
			 Coleraine 338 334 344 386 438 459 535 517 517 467 
			 Waterloo Pl 317 288 271 259 267 330 341 319 286 252 
			 Waterside 535 535 506 517 613 751 827 819 788 768 
			 Collon Tee 407 388 360 345 370 470 530 585 575 513 
			 Limavady 222 228 218 236 280 307 327 306 317 302 
			 Magherafelt 116 152 135 162 170 208 235 267 305 251 
			 Strabane 336 334 314 328 404 471 564 520 543 488 
			 Omagh 206 196 174 186 200 201 255 294 322 277 
			 Cookstown 105 108 115 142 152 164 176 154 173 166 
			
			 Total 12,985 12,793 12,491 13,364 14,596 17,358 19,027 18,888 19,081 (6)17,512 
		
	
	(5) The figures quoted are at the end of the financial year i.e. 31 March and include debt
	from previous years.
	(6) This figure was previously quoted as 17,751 which included an amount of unrecoverable debt which has since been written off.
	Note:
	The figures quoted in the totals, which are correct, do not match the total of each of the columns due to these amounts being rounded to three figures.

Sexual Assaults

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many sexual assaults have been reported in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years, broken down by constituency; and how many convictions there were for such assaults in each year, in each constituency.

Shaun Woodward: Reporting data in respect of sexual assaults is only available by District Command Unit. Statistics in relation to this type of offence are available on the PSNI website: www.psni.police.uk The following table provides statistics on the number of convictions for sexual assaults by District Command Unit during the period 2000 to 2003 (2003 being the most up-to-date data currently available). Data for 1999 has not been included as it is not comparable with the 2000–03 data.
	
		Table 1: Convictions for sexual assaults by District Command Unit 2000–03
		
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Antrim 2 0 3 1 
			 Ards 6 0 2 2 
			 Armagh 3 2 2 0 
			 Banbridge 2 0 0 1 
			 Belfast East 3 4 1 3 
			 Belfast North 6 6 5 5 
			 Belfast South 7 10 6 7 
			 Belfast West 4 3 0 3 
			 Ballymena 0 2 1 2 
			 Ballymoney 3 1 0 2 
			 Carrickfergus 3 3 0 0 
			 Coleraine 3 4 0 0 
			 Cookstown 2 0 0 0 
			 Craigavon 3 3 2 5 
			 Castlereagh 1 3 2 1 
			 Dungannon and South Tyrone 4 1 0 2 
			 Down 4 2 3 1 
			 Fermanagh 7 1 3 3 
			 Foyle 9 8 4 4 
			 Larne 0 0 1 2 
			 Limavady 1 0 2 2 
			 Lisburn 3 9 2 6 
			 Magherafelt 0 0 3 1 
			 Moyle 1 1 0 0 
			 Newtownabbey 1 3 2 2 
			 North Down 1 4 2 1 
			 Newry and Mourne 5 1 0 2 
			 Omagh 0 2 3 3 
			 Strabane 1 0 3 1 
			 Missing 4 8 3 4 
			 Total 89 81 55 66 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Table 1 is based on the PSNI District Command Unit in which an offender's address falls. The structure of police District Command Units became operational in April 2001. However, for the purposes of comparability, calendar year 2000 data are also disaggregated by DCU, rather than police division. It is not possible to disaggregate data by DCU for 1999.
	2. Figures include convictions for the offences of "assault with intent to rape", "indecent assault on female", "indecent assault on male", "indecent assault on female child" and "indecent assault on male child".
	3. "Missing" data includes those convictions for which DCU information is not available.
	4. Data is collated on the principal offence rule, thus only the most serious offence for which an offender is charged is included.
	5. At present there is no means of tracking an offence from when it was reported to the police to whether there was a conviction for the offence, thus the conviction figures included should not be compared with the number of sexual assaults reported.

Bullying

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on her Department's plans to combat bullying in educational establishments.

Jacqui Smith: This Government have given an unprecedented high profile to tackling bullying and supporting those who have been bullied. Since 1999 it has been compulsory for every school to have an anti-bullying policy in place which details how the school will tackle bullying. Our anti-bullying work, including the anti-bullying Charter for Action, takes an integrated approach to preventing bullying, to addressing causes of bullying—for example prejudice—and to helping those who are bullied.
	As recommended by the Practitioners Group on Behaviour and Discipline, the recent White Paper committed the Department to producing specific guidance for schools on prejudice driven bullying. At the beginning of this month, we launched our new advice 'Bullying around racism, religion and culture; how to prevent it and what to do when it happens' as the first of this suite of materials. The advice is presented as a set of interactive web pages on the teachernet website and is being supported by a national programme of dissemination events. Feedback from schools and local authorities so far has been overwhelmingly positive. We will be following this with specific advice on countering homophobic bullying later in 2006.
	We have secured a very broad consensus, with all the teaching professional associations and the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) signing up to our Anti-Bullying Charter for Action. The Charter is a voluntary commitment to creating a school community where bullying is not tolerated. In 2006 we plan to share examples of where the Charter has been particularly well implemented with other schools so that they can learn from this best practice.
	Through our work with the ABA, an organisation comprising over 65 leading anti-bullying charities and experts, we provide schools and local authorities with expert help to tackle bullying. The National Strategies' behaviour materials provide schools with support in reducing and responding to bullying.
	We have put more adults than ever in our schools—teachers, classroom assistants, learning mentors, Connexions personal advisers, Behaviour and Education Support Teams and police officers—so that a wide range of people are available to help prevent and tackle bullying.
	Anti-bullying week continues to be a successful event with a large number of schools taking part in November 2005's activities through a wide variety of national and local events. There was a considerable amount of positive press coverage and this year over 325,000 anti-bullying wristbands were distributed.
	Our anti-bullying resource pack for schools "Bullying: Don't Suffer in Silence", updated in 2000 and September 2002 will be revised and re-issued in the summer term 2006 to ensure schools have the most up-to-date information available on tackling bullying.
	In addition the Department has recently launched the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) curriculum resource—an intervention to develop children's social, emotional and behavioural skills from Foundation Stage to Year 6. It is available to all primary schools and the evidence from the pilot suggests that it helps reduce bullying and promotes positive behaviour generally. It is an important arm of the Department's longer term policy to promote positive behaviour and attendance. The Department is hoping to build on the work carried out in primary schools by providing a similar whole school curriculum based resource for secondary schools (SEBS). At present the programme is in a very early pilot stage.

Drinking Water (Schools)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the merits of installing water coolers in all schools to improve pupils' access to free, fresh drinking water during the school day;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to encourage water consumption by pupils during the school day.

Jacqui Smith: We are aware of the importance of children drinking water during the school day and the benefits that it brings. The interactive Food in Schools Toolkit, published jointly by the Department of Health and DfES, provides a wide range of guidance, resources and interactive tools to inspire and support schools in taking a whole school approach to healthy eating and drinking, including water provision. The 'Water Provision' guidance supports schools in reviewing and improving current provision and promoting water consumption.
	The Cross Departmental "Healthy Living Blueprint", issued to all schools, brings together all government advice and examples of best practice about healthy eating and drinking in schools. It provides schools with advice on how to improve children's approach to food and drink and exercise, and shows how developing whole school approaches can help bring about significant improvements to the health of children.
	Healthy School Lunches guidance, published by the DfES, contains the Secretary of State's expectation that drinking water should be available to all pupils every day, free of charge. This view is mirrored in the 'Healthy Living Blueprint for Schools', which states that,
	"all pupils should have access to drinking water at all times at a number of points around the school, preferably not from taps in the toilets. Pupils should be permitted to carry water with them and consumption encouraged both in class and during break and lunch time".
	The School Meals Review Panel (SMRP) made a reference to drinking water in recommendation 7 of their report—Turning the Tables: "There should be easy access to free, fresh, chilled drinking water throughout the school day (paragraph 2.32)". The consultation closed on 31 December 2005 and the responses are being analysed.
	It is the responsibility of head teachers and school's governing bodies to decide how and when water should be made available. We consider that they are best placed to make these decisions in their role of having responsibility of the day to day running of the school and with their knowledge of the individual circumstances of their pupils.

Education Act 2002

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools are a qualifying school for the purposes of chapter 2 of the Education Act 2002.

Jacqui Smith: The provisions set out in chapter 2 of the Education Act (2002) conferring exemptions related to school performance, have not yet been commenced. Regulations setting out which schools are "qualifying schools" have not been made. As such, no schools are "qualifying schools" for the purposes of these provisions. We are keeping the provisions under review.

Energy Efficiency

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to increase energy efficiency within her Department; and if she will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The Department is taking the following steps to increase energy efficiency:
	Energy Audits undertaken by the Carbon Trust on three buildings, findings to be presented to facilities managers during April;
	Plant and machinery efficiency reviewed regularly by building engineers and remedial action taken where necessary;
	Building Management Systems checked by building engineers to confirm equipment is operating effectively;
	Window seals renewed at Moorfoot as part of a two year programme to reduce drafts;
	Timer plugs installed on photocopiers at Moorfoot with the potential of extending to other sites and electrical equipment, depending on feasibility and funds. As an interim measure, photocopiers are switched off each night by Security Guards at Darlington;
	Sensor lighting installed in Sanctuary Buildings' car parks and 8th floor and considering the feasibility of extending this further;
	New software, called "NightWatchman", introduced from February 2006 to shutdown PCs automatically at a set time each evening;
	Flat screen monitors installed which use less energy, at every workstation which doesn't have one already;
	Multi Functional Devices being trialled which can print, scan and fax. If successful, they will be implemented throughout the Department.

GCSE grades

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of children in (a) Tameside and (b) Stockport local education authority achieved five or more GCSEs at (i) grade A*-C and (ii) grade A*-G in each year since 1997.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested is presented in the following table.
	
		GCSE and equivalent(9) achievements of 15-year-old pupils
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004(10) 2005(11)(12) 
		
		
			 (i) Percentage of 15-year-old pupils achieving 5 or more grades A*-C 
			 Stockport local authority(13) 50.2 50.2 50.1 51.7 54.2 52.4 53.3 53.0 54.4 
			 Tameside local authority(13) 37.7 38.4 40.5 42.1 42.0 43.1 46.2 44.7 51.7 
			 LA maintained total(13) 42.5 43.6 45.7 47.0 47.9 49.5 51.1 52.0 54.7 
			 England (all schools) 45.1 46.3 47.9 49.2 50.0 51.6 52.9 53.7 56.3 
			   
			 (ii) Percentage of 15-year-old pupils achieving 5 or more grades A*-G 
			 Stockport local authority(13) 91.6 90. 4 91.6 90.9 91.9 89.9 90.6 89.9 90.2 
			 Tameside local authority(13) 86.2 89. 2 90.5 90.9 90.5 89.3 90.0 89.6 90.5 
			 LA maintained total(13) 87.0 88. 0 89.3 89.6 89.6 89.6 89.4 89.7 89.9 
			 England (all schools) 86.4 87. 5 88.5 88.9 88.9 88.9 88.8 88.8 89.0 
		
	
	(9) From 1997, figures include results of GCSE and GNVQ qualifications.
	(10) From 2004, figures include results of GCSE and all other equivalent qualifications approved for use pre-16.
	(11) From 2005, figures also include results of graded exams.
	(12) Figures for 2005 are revised; final figures will be published later in 2006.
	(13) The figures for each LA, and the LA maintained total include LA maintained schools, CTCs and, from 2003, academies, England (all schools) figures include all schools.

School Meals

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what plans she has to increase funding for school meals;
	(2)  when the Government expects to reach the target of spending 60 pence on each child for school lunches;
	(3)  what recent representations she has received on the issue of increasing the nutritional content of school lunches.

Jacqui Smith: The Government are determined to transform the quality of food in schools and supports the work local authorities and schools are doing to raise the nutritional standards of school meals.
	In March 2005 the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, Ruth Kelly, announced a £235 million package to transform the quality of school meals. In October 2005, as part of a three year package and paid as part of their Standards Fund Allocations, schools received a share of £30 million to enable them to fund local improvements such as increased training and working hours for school cooks. A further £60 million (£30 million/£30 million) will be paid in 2006 and 2007. Over the same period, local authorities will receive £130 million (£30 million/£50 million/£50 million).
	There is no Government target for spending. The School Meals Review Panel report: Turning the Tables: Transforming School Food, concluded that the average cost of ingredients in primary schools was 48.5p; and in secondary schools was 59.8p. This shows that schools are already well on the way to meeting the Government's aspiration of helping schools to provide meals with ingredients costs of 50p for primary schools and 60p for secondary schools. In some cases, where they have already made significant improvements, schools are spending more than 50/60 pence.
	The public consultation carried out between 3 October 2005 and 31 December 2005 on the recommendations in the School Meals Review Panel's Report generated 261 responses. The School Food Trust has announced its advice for the nutritional standards that should apply to school food offered across the school day, including items offered in vending machines and tuck shops. We will seek the views of key stakeholders during March.
	Additionally, officials from the School Food Team have met with a number of industry representatives, who requested an opportunity to discuss specific issues, as part of the consultation process.

Schools (Religious Ethos)

Evan Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the compatibility with Article 2 of Protocol 1 and Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights of circumstances where the only practical choice of school is a school with a religious ethos; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: Article 2 of Protocol 1 gives children the right of access to education. It also places an obligation on the state to acknowledge or take into account the right of parents to ensure that their child's education conforms to their own religious and philosophical convictions. However, it does not guarantee the right to a place at a particular school.
	Article 14 prohibits discrimination in the enjoyment of Convention rights on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status.
	Taking into account section 71 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 which gives parents the right to withdraw their child from religious education or collective worship, in our view, Article 2 of Protocol 1 is not infringed in cases where a school with a religious ethos may be the only one available to a parent.

Child Support

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in respect of how many child maintenance payments were received in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 7 March 2006
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to my right hon. Friend with the information requested.
	Letter from Hilary Reynolds
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As the Chief Executive is currently on leave, I am responding on his behalf.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in respect of how many children child maintenance payments were received in each year since 1997.
	The information requested is provided in the attached table.
	As you are aware, maintenance is paid on the basis of cases, each of which may be associated with one or more qualifying children. The Agency's data reflects this.
	You will note from the table that the number of children associated with cases in receipt of maintenance, or with a Maintenance Direct arrangement in place, fell between February 2003 and February 2005. This is part of a larger trend, and the ratio of children per case has fallen steadily between February 1997 and December 2005. However the overall number of cases benefiting has continued to increase throughout this period.
	I hope you find this helpful.
	
		The number of cases that were receiving maintenance payments via the collection service or have a Maintenance Direct arrangement in place and the number of children this equates to. February 1997 to December 2005
		
			  Number of cases in receipt of maintenance, via collection service Number of cases with a Maintenance Direct arrangement in place Total cases Number of children 
		
		
			 February 1997 132,000 64,000 196,000 307,000 
			 February 1998 170,000 76,000 246,000 378,000 
			 February 1999 212,000 87,000 299,000 453,000 
			 February 2000 246,000 98,000 344,000 516,000 
			 February 2001 262,000 97,000 358,000 532,000 
			 February 2002 269,000 98,000 367,000 537,000 
			 February 2003 283,000 86,000 369,000 536,000 
			 February 2004 — — — — 
			 February 2005 288,000 90,000 378,000 527,000 
			 December 2005 302,000 106,000 408,000 561,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Robust data from the new IT system (CS2) covering period March 2003 to March 2004 are not currently available, and is under development.
	2. Maintenance Direct is an arrangement in which the Agency have carried out a maintenance calculation or assessment, and the non resident parent then pays his/her maintenance liability directly to the parent with care. As the Agency is no longer directly involved in the case, it is not possible to say definitively if payment is received where such an arrangement is in place.
	3. December 2005 is the latest data currently available.
	4. Figures rounded to the nearest thousand.

Disability Allowance

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many young people have been registered for disability allowance in West Lancashire constituency in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to my hon. Friend with the information requested.
	Letter from Terry Moran
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many young people have been registered for disability allowance in West Lancashire constituency in each year since 1997.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
	The requested information is in the following table:
	
		All disability living allowance cases in entitlement for under-16s in West Lancashire parliamentary constituency as at August each year from 1997 to 2005
		
			  All entitled cases (thousand) 
		
		
			 2005 0.5 
			 2004 0.5 
			 2003 0.5 
			 2002 0.4 
			 2001 0.5 
			 2000 0.6 
			 1999 0.5 
			 1998 0.5 
			 1997 0.5 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Totals show cases either in payment or suspended.
	2. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by postcode using ONS data.
	3. Definitions and Conventions:
	Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
	Source:
	DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study for totals and 5 per cent. for older time series.
	I hope this is helpful.

Housing Allowance

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2006, Official Report, column 1550W, on benefits, whether he expects to be able to provide an estimate of the cost of a national rollout of local housing allowance before the final decision on the amount of transitional funding is announced.

James Plaskitt: The cost estimates of the national roll out of the local housing allowance will cover the impact on benefit expenditure and expenditure required to cover the transitional administrative costs of introducing the local housing allowance. Both these cost estimates will be determined by the final design of the local housing allowance. This will depend on the findings of the ongoing evaluation of the local housing allowance in the pathfinder areas and the outcome of the Welfare Reform Green Paper consultation "A New Deal for Welfare: Empowering People to Work".

Parliamentary Questions

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will be in a position to answer question numbers 50674, 50675, 50676, 50698 and 50699 tabled by the right hon. Member for Birkenhead on 7 February 2006.

Anne McGuire: I refer my right hon. Friend to the replies for all the questions as follows:
	Question 50674 on 27 February 2006, Official Report, column 244W
	Questions 50675, 50676, 50698 and 50699 on 16 February 2006, Official Report, column 2436W.

Shared Rooms

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average shared room rate has been in each of the local housing allowance pathfinder areas.

James Plaskitt: The available information is in the following table.
	
		Average shared room rate set by rent officers in local housing allowance pathfinders, March 2004–March 2006 £
		
			  March 
			  2004 2005 2006 
		
		
			 Blackpool 48 50 50 
			 Brighton 67 70 75 
			 Conwy (22)39 39 45 
			 Coventry 48 50 50 
			 Edinburgh (22)61 62 65 
			 Leeds 50 50 50 
			 Lewisham 85 81 86 
			 North East Lincolnshire 44 44 44 
			 Teignbridge 54 60 61 
		
	
	(22) Figures are for April 2004.
	Notes:
	1. Figures are the shared room rates set by rent officers averaged across the broad rental market areas within each pathfinder.
	2. The shared room rate is the maximum housing benefit to which a claimant is entitled and does not necessarily represent the amount of housing benefit in payment.
	Source:
	Rent Registration Service, Scotland; Rent Officer Service, Wales; and the Rent Service, England. March 2004–06.

Spending Review (Efficiency Targets)

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much of the agreed efficiency target for his Department set out in the 2004 Spending Review is to be cashable; and under what budget headings these cashable efficiency savings will be re-spent.

James Plaskitt: The agreed financial target for DWP in the 2004 Spending Review was that the Department will realise total annual efficiency gains of at least £960 million by 2007–08 of which at least half will be cashable. The financial settlement for the years 2005–06 to 2007–08 was made net of the planned financial efficiencies so that DWP will achieve its efficiency target by living within the financial allocation already made. As such there are no funds available to DWP to be re-spent.

Evesham Technology

Michael Foster: To ask the Leader of the House whether Evesham Technology made a bid to supply hon. Members with their computing needs.

Nigel Griffiths: Evesham Technology was one of 30 companies who replied to the advertisement for expressions of interest in the contract for upgrading hon. Members' IT equipment. It was not one of the 6 shortlisted companies invited to tender.

Noise Pollution

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on Government policy on noise pollution from airports in the South East.

Derek Twigg: Our basic aim is to limit and, where possible, reduce the number of people in the UK significantly affected by aircraft noise. This aim applies to the South East as it does to the rest of the UK.
	The Government set noise-related operating restrictions at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports, which include departure noise limits and night flying restrictions. At other airports, a range of similar measures are implemented by the airports themselves, responding to local circumstances.
	In "The Future of Air Transport" white paper we set out the measures we wish to see larger UK airports (with over 50,000 movements a year, by jet aircraft over 34,000 kg) apply as a benchmark for mitigating aircraft noise.

A47/A11

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with (a) Ministerial colleagues and (b) others about the impact on (i) the economy and (ii) regeneration of the local area of upgrading the (A) A47 and (B) A11.

Stephen Ladyman: I discuss a wide range of transport issues, including road schemes, and their impact on (i) the economy and (ii) regeneration with Ministerial colleagues and others on a regular basis.

British Transport Police

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many British Transport Police have been employed in each year since 1997 in (a) England, (b) the North East and (c) the boroughs of the Tees Valley sub-region.

Derek Twigg: The British Transport Police (BTP) have provided the following information on the number of police employed in each year since 1997 in (a) England and Wales and (b) the North East. A figure for England alone is not available as one of BTP's operational areas, "Wales and Western", covers both England and Wales.
	The data requested is not collected broken down by boroughs and therefore can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  England and Wales BTP North Eastern Area 
		
		
			 1997–98 1,898 195 
			 1998–99 1,906 205 
			 1999–2000 1,874 197 
			 2000–01 1,907 192 
			 2001–02 1,920 188 
			 2002–03 2,001 193 
			 2003–04 2,073 197 
			 2004–05 2,283 205

Cabin Air Supply

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has received the report from Boeing on Aerotoxic Syndrome affecting pilots during flight; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: We are not aware of any recent reports by Boeing on "aerotoxic syndrome."
	The Department for Transport does not want anyone travelling by air to be exposed to serious health risks. We have arranged for the independent Committee on Toxicity (COT) to conduct an evidence review of any such risks in cabin air. This process is under way and the formal COT meeting will be held in public in May or July this year.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which organisations other than the police are able to access information from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency on car registrations and owners.

Stephen Ladyman: Information held on the DVLA vehicle register is lawfully released under Regulation 27 of the "Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002". Regulation 27 allows DVLA to release information to the police, local authorities investigating an offence or decriminalised parking contravention, and anyone who has 'reasonable cause' for wanting the information made available to him. 'Reasonable cause' is not defined in the legislation. Each request is considered individually on its merits and no organisations are explicitly included or excluded from being able to receive information.
	A review of the regulations governing the release of data is currently underway. I refer the hon. Member to my Written Statement of 2 December 2005, Official Report, columns 50–51WS.

House Building Targets

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the future transport needs of Norfolk in relation to the Government's house building targets for the county.

Stephen Ladyman: The draft East of England Plan, prepared by the East of England Regional Assembly, includes their proposals for future levels of housing and transport provision in Norfolk.
	These proposals were considered by an independent Panel at the recent Examination in Public into the Plan. The Panel's report is due to be submitted to Government mid-2006.
	Ministers look forward to receiving the Panel's recommendations and to considering these further in due course. We will then embark on a further public consultation before the Plan is finalised during spring 2007.

King's Cross Station

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) timetable for and (b) cost is of the refurbishment and regeneration work at London's King's Cross station; what progress has been made with the project to date; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The London Underground works at King's Cross are being delivered in two phases. Phase 1 works, including the new western ticket hall and the refurbished and enlarged tube ticket hall, are due to be completed this year. The current programme shows a completion date for the phase 2 works, which include the new northern ticket hall, in 2010. The northern ticket hall works re-commenced on site in March 2006.
	Network Rail is planning to complete the construction of a new Western concourse at King's Cross by the 2012 Olympics. The western concourse project is in the design stage and applications to the planning authority are expected later this year.
	The total cost of the London Underground and Network Rail western concourse works is around £1 billion.
	Network Rail is also planning to carry out renewal work to the fabric of King's Cross station and this project is in the initial planning stages.

Road Budget (Lancashire)

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding Lancashire county council has received from his Department for its road budget in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The funding provided directly to Lancashire county council since 1997 is provided in the following table. The integrated transport block funding can be used for local highways or public transport capital projects. It is for Lancashire to determine how that allocation has been spent, in line with its local transport plan and its priorities. Lancashire did not receive any expenditure for major road schemes, costing over £5 million, in this timeframe.
	
		Lancashire county council £ million
		
			  1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 Integrated Transport Block 2.203 3.833 4.200 11.200 11.922 12.051 13.033 11.000 
			 Capital Highways Maintenance 1.465 3.048 6.096 16.630 17.782 13.337 16.176 14.865

Road Closures

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many unscheduled (a) road and (b) lane closures due to road accidents there have been on the motorways and trunk road network in the last 12 months; what the average duration of such closure was in each local authority area; and what assessment he has made of the average cost to the economy of such closures.

Stephen Ladyman: In the 12 month period March 2005 to February 2006, the Highways Agency's National Traffic Control Centre (NTCC) recorded 8,590 accidents resulting in partial or total road closure of greater than 15 minutes' duration, on the English Strategic Road Network. Records are not kept centrally on other more minor incidents. The following table shows the monthly breakdown of the NTCC figures. Assessment of the cost to the economy of unplanned closures is not routinely undertaken.
	
		Road accidents Number
		
			 Month Lane closure Total road closure Total 
		
		
			 March 2005 503 162 665 
			 April 2005 475 180 655 
			 May 2005 551 201 752 
			 June 2005 559 187 746 
			 July 2005 557 171 728 
			 August 2005 577 181 758 
			 September 2005 468 178 646 
			 October 2005 512 191 703 
			 November 2005 545 215 760 
			 December 2005 620 224 844 
			 January 2006 486 156 642 
			 February 2006 502 189 691 
			 Total 6355 2235 8590 
		
	
	The average duration of these events, from their identification through to conditions returning to normal, was 2.5 hours. A table showing NTCC records by local authority has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Ambulance Services (Sussex)

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the cost of restructuring ambulance services in Sussex; and what representations she has received about this.

Caroline Flint: The purpose of the proposed changes to configuration is to ensure that ambulance trusts have the capacity and the capability to fully realise the strategic vision for ambulance trusts set out in the recent review of ambulance services, "Taking Healthcare to the Patient-Transforming NHS Ambulance Services". "Taking Healthcare to the Patient" set out how the range and quality of services provided to patients by ambulance services should be improved, for example through the provision of quality call handling and advice, a wider range of services such as diagnostics and the management of long term conditions and even better care for patients with life-threatening conditions.
	While the purposes of these proposed changes are not to deliver cost-savings, we do expect efficiencies to be generated. Any efficiency savings that are made will, in the short-term, be set against the costs of transition, and in the longer-term be available for re-investment by the trust into improving patient care.
	Examples of areas in which efficiencies may be realised are management and administrative positions, headquarters and estates, and better use of resources. However, these decisions are a local matter and it is not for us to pre-empt them.
	The consultation for the proposed configuration of national health service ambulance trusts in England is being led by strategic health authorities (SHAs). SHAs will co-ordinate consultation locally and ensure that relevant authorities and interested parties are able to express their views. A full analysis of the responses received by the SHAs and the Department will be undertaken at the end of the consultation. The consultation will conclude on 22 March 2006.

Benzodiazepine Addiction

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her latest estimate is of the number of benzodiazepine addicts in England; and what methods her Department uses to compile this information.

Caroline Flint: We do not have records centrally of the number of benzodiazepine addicts in England. Prescription information does not tell us how many repeat prescriptions for benzodiazepines are issued to the same person, so it is not possible to pinpoint how many people are dependent. However, the number of prescriptions has fallen significantly from 15.8 million in 1992 to 12.4 million in 2004 1 . With the exception of instalment prescribing for diazepam, a benzodiazepine, we are unable to distinguish between prescriptions issued to patients who are addicts and those who are not.
	1 The prescription information was obtained from the Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) system and is based on a full analysis of all prescriptions dispensed in the community, that is, by community pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors, and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered in England. Total prescriptions include not only prescriptions originating from general medical practitioners in England but also from hospital doctors, dentists and, up to March 1994, armed services doctors and dentists, provided they were dispensed in the community. Also included are prescriptions written in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man but dispensed in England. The data do not cover drugs dispensed in hospital or private prescriptions.

Chlamydia Testing Kits

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will extend the scheme of offering free chlamydia kits at chemists in London to other areas of the country.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 16 February 2006
	An evaluation of the chlamydia screening pathfinder project is being carried out concurrently with the London pilot. Decisions about whether to extend the scheme nationally will be made once the evaluation has reported.

Drug and Alcohol Misuse

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress her Department is making towards reducing average waiting times for treatment for alcohol misuse.

Caroline Flint: Taken from alcohol needs assessment research project (ANARP), the average waiting time for assessment was 4.6 weeks. The shortest average wait for a region was 3.3 weeks and the longest wait was 6.5 weeks. The programme of improvement guidance and models of care for alcohol misuse are to follow.

General Practitioners

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioner practices have only one general practitioner in (a) West Lancashire and (b) Lancashire.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		General practitioner (GP) practices(29) for Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority, as at 30 September 2004 Headcount
		
			   All GP practices of which: single-handed 
		
		
			 Q13 Cumbria and Lancashire 356 107 
			  Blackburn with Darwen   
			  Primary Care Trust (PCT) 33 12 
			  Blackpool PCT 25 6 
			  Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale PCT 42 12 
			  Carlisle and District PCT 21 7 
			  Chorley and South Ribble PCT 37 8 
			  Eden Valley PCT 14 4 
			  Fylde PCT 10 1 
			  Hyndburn and Ribble Valley PCT 24 12 
			  Morecambe Bay PCT 56 15 
			  Preston PCT 30 15 
			  West Cumbria PCT 21 1 
			  West Lancashire PCT 25 9 
			  Wyre PCT 18 5 
		
	
	(29) Figures relate to practitioners, excluding GP registrars and GP retainers, who are single-handed, that is had no partners although their practice may have a GP registrar or GP retainer. This figure cannot be replicated for earlier years.
	Source:
	General and Personal Medical Services Statistics NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Medicines

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many responses have been received to the Medicines (Fees) Regulations consultation; what proportion of these responses objected to the proposed fee increases; and when the results of the consultation will be made public.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 27 February 2006
	I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 16 March 2006, Official Report, columns 2480–81W.

Mental Health Services (Lancashire)

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her policy is on the future role for the independent sector in the provision of mental health facilities in (a) Lancashire and (b) West Lancashire constituency.

Liam Byrne: The national health service receives vital support from the independent sector in delivering mental health services, improving access to these and in reducing waiting times, for example, in providing medium secure facilities and in specialist eating disorder services and we have no plans to change this.
	The independent sector, through the private finance initiative scheme (PFI), is helping to deliver the biggest hospital building programme, including mental health facilities, in the history of the NHS, replacing old and outmoded buildings with ones fit for the 21st century. New or improved mental health facilities are among the 140 new hospital schemes worth £19.1 billion, which are in progress and are counting towards the NHS plan target of having 100 new hospital schemes open by 2010.
	The responsibility for planning and developing NHS health services which meet the needs of local communities, including mental health services, rests with primary care trusts and their strategic health authorities. We will continue to support the commissioning of independent sector services by the NHS where this delivers clear benefits for NHS patients and where it represents value for money for the taxpayer.

Midwives

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many vacant midwife posts there are in (a) the Cheshire and Lancashire and Cumbria strategic health authority area and (b) the West Lancashire primary care trust area; and what steps her Department is taking to recruit more midwives into the NHS in (i) Cheshire, (ii) Merseyside and (iii) Lancashire.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		NHS health and social care information centre vacancies survey March 2005, national health service three-month vacancies for Cheshire and Merseyside and Cumbria and Lancashire strategic health authority areas and by organisations for qualified midwives Three-month vacancy rates, numbers and staff in post
		
			  Midwives 
			  March 2005 September 2004 
			  Three-month vacancy rate (percentage) Three-month vacancy (number) Staff in post (full-time equivalent) Staff in post (headcount) 
		
		
			 Cheshire and Merseyside SHA area total 0.2 2 1,029 1,304 
			 Five Borough Partnership NHS Trust (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Bebington and West Wirral PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Birkenhead and Wallasey PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Cardiothoracic Centre—Liverpool NHS Trust (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Central Cheshire PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Central Liverpool PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside SHA (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Cheshire West PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology NHS Trust (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust 0.9 1 106 138 
			 East Cheshire NHS Trust 0.0 0 70 98 
			 Eastern Cheshire PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Ellesmere Port and Neston PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Halton PCT 0.0 0 28 34 
			 Knowsley PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Liverpool Womens Hospital NHS Trust 0.0 0 277 351 
			 Mersey Care NHS Trust (31)— 0 3 8 
			 Mersey Regional Ambulance Service NHS Trust (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 1.0 1 97 123 
			 North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 0.0 0 100 126 
			 North Liverpool PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Hospitals University NHS Trust (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Royal Liverpool Childrens NHS Trust (30)— 0 0 0 
			 South Liverpool PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 South Sefton PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Southport and Formby PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust 0.0 0 93 116 
			 St. Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust 0.2 0 108 133 
			 St. Helens PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery NHS Trust (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Warrington PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Wirral Hospital NHS Trust 0.0 0 148 177 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire SHA area Total 0.3 3 927 1,147 
			 Blackburn with Darwen PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Blackpool PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust 1.9 2 103 126 
			 Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale PCT (31)— 0 1 2 
			 Calderstones NHS Trust (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Carlisle and District PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Chorley and South Ribble PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Cumbria Ambulance Service NHS Trust (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire SHA (31)— 0 1 1 
			 East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust 0.0 0 245 303 
			 Eden Valley PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Fylde PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Hyndburn and Ribble Valley PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Lancashire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Lancashire Care NHS Trust (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 0.7 1 143 177 
			 Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust 0.0 0 306 356 
			 Morecambe Bay PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 0.0 0 127 182 
			 North Cumbria Mental Health and Learning Disabilities NHS Trust (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Preston PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 West Cumbria PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 West Lancashire PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
			 Wyre PCT (30)— 0 0 0 
		
	
	(30) Zero.
	(31) Figures where sum of staff in post (as at 30 September 2004) and vacancies (as at 31 March 2005) is less than 10.
	Notes:
	Three-month vacancy
	1. Three-month vacancy information is as at 31 March 2005.
	2. Three-month vacancies are vacancies which trusts are actively trying to fill, which had lasted for three months or more (whole-time equivalents).
	3. Three-month vacancy rates are three-month vacancies expressed as a percentage of three-month vacancies plus staff in post.
	4. Three-month vacancy rates are calculated using staff in post from the non-medical work force census September 2004.
	5. Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal place.
	Staff in post
	Staff in post data is from the non-medical work force census September 2004.
	General
	1. Vacancy and staff in post numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number.
	2. Calculating the vacancy rates using the aforementioned data may not equal the actual vacancy rates.
	3. Due to rounding, totals may not equal the sum of component parts.
	4. SHA figures are based on trusts, and do not necessarily reflect the geographical provision of health care.
	Sources:
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre Vacancies Survey March 2005.
	NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census September 2004.
	The NHS Improvement Plan, published in June 2004, reiterated the Government's commitment to increase numbers of frontline NHS staff. This built on the NHS Plan which made a commitment to increasing nursing staff numbers—over 20,000 more nurses working in the NHS and 5,500 extra nurses, midwives and health visitors being trained each year by 2004. These targets have already been met and exceeded. The extra investment announced in the 2002 Budget, builds on the NHS Plan target; by 2008 we expect the NHS to have net increases of at least 35,000 nurses, midwives and health visitors.

MRSA (Lancashire)

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will give details of the numbers of how many MRSA cases there were in each hospital in (a) Lancashire and (b) hospitals which receive significant numbers of patients from West Lancashire constituency in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The information is not available in the format requested. However, information relating to the national health service hospitals trusts in the Lancashire area is shown in the table.
	
		MRSA cases: Annual data for 2001–05
		
			  April 2001 to March 2002 April 2002 to March 2003 April 2003 to March 2004 April 2004 to March 2005 
			 Trust name Number of MRSA bacteraemia reports MRSA rate per 1,000 bed-days Number of MRSA bacteraemia reports MRSA rate per 1,000 bed-days Number of MRSA bacteraemia reports MRSA rate per 1,000 bed-days Number of MRSA bacteraemia reports MRSA rate per 1,000 bed-days(32) 
		
		
			 Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust 44 0.22 40 0.11 64 0.17 62 0.16 
			 East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust 57 0.11 66 0.16 63 0.15 69 0.17 
			 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 76 0.21 58 0.17 56 0.15 74 0.2 
			 Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust 33 0.1 24 0.08 30 0.1 30 0.1 
			 Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust 4 0.02 11 0.06 10 0.06 13 0.07 
		
	
	(32) 2004–05 rate per 1,000 bed-days is provisional as final 2004–05 activity data are not yet available.
	Source:
	Department of Health Mandatory MRSA Bacteraemia Surveillance Scheme —MRSA bacteraemia by NHS trust.

Overseas Medical Staff

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her Department's press release of 7 March 2006 (GNN Ref 129686P), entitled "Extra Investment and Increase in Home-Grown Medical Recruits Eases UK Reliance on Overseas Doctors", what assessment she has made of the impact on the NHS dental service of the enhanced requirements for overseas doctors and dentists to obtain work permits.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 15 March 2006
	The enhanced requirements for overseas doctors and dentists to obtain work permits do not have significant implications for national health service dental services. The only implications for dental services are where overseas dentists, from outside the European Union (EU), are seeking employment in the hospital or community dental services and where it will be necessary to show that there is no dentist from the United Kingdom or the wider EU dentist able to fill the post.
	The great majority of dentists in England work as independent, self-employed contractors in primary care. In these cases, dentists from outside the EU, who have undertaken vocational training, will continue to be able to seek entry under the "Person Intending to Establish Themselves in Business rules" and are not affected by the enhanced requirements for work permits. A non-EU dentist who has not undertaken vocational training will require a work permit, but vocational dental practitioners are included on the Home Office's list of shortage occupations and will not be affected by the enhanced requirements announced on 7 March.

Population Growth

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment her Department has made of the likely impact of the projected increases in the population of South East England from the South East England Regional Assembly housing allocations on (a) demand for and (b) capacity of (i) primary care and (ii) secondary care;
	(2)  what plans she has to review the additional health funding allocated to the Government's identified growth areas for housing development.

Liam Byrne: The aim of resource allocation is to provide equal levels of funding for equal levels of underlying need in the population. A key element of the formula used to achieve this objective is the count of the population in an area.
	The development of the formula is overseen by the advisory committee on resource allocation (ACRA), ACRA is made up of academics, national health service managers and general practitioners, and already has a work programme to improve the measure of population used to inform primary care trust (PCT) allocations.
	The development of the formula is overseen by the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA), ACRA is made up of academics, NHS managers and GPs, and already has a work programme to improve the measure of population used to inform PCT allocations. ACRA will make recommendations in advance of the next allocations round.
	The allocations for 2006–07 and 2007–08 were based on population projections produced by the Office of National Statistics. This includes expected population growth based on previous trends. In addition, a growth area adjustment was introduced for PCTs covered by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister growth area initiative. The takes account of the specific impact on population growth. This covers funding for both primary and secondary care.

Sexual Health

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 31 January 2006, Official Report, column 446W, on sexual health, if she will place in the House of Commons Library the review that was undertaken of sexual health service provision in Watford and St. Albans.

Caroline Flint: The review of the Watford and St. Albans genito-urinary service is currently being drafted and will be sent to the relevant stakeholders for consultation soon. Once this and other elements of the national genito-urinary service review is complete, a report will be published and placed in the House of Commons Library.

Social Care

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health from which survey the statement in paragraph 5.8 of the white paper "Our Health, Our Care, Our Say" that over a third of those receiving social care had not had a review in the past year was derived.

Liam Byrne: The information about the number of social care reviews is derived from referrals, assessments and packages of care data (RAP) for adults in England in 2004–05.
	The specific quotation relates to the performance assessment framework (PAF) indicator AO/D40 which shows that 37 per cent. of adults and older clients receiving social services were not reviewed in 2004–05. This percentage is based on the number of reviews for adults aged 18 and over (1.09 million) as a proportion of the total number of people receiving social services aged 18 and over, an estimated 1.72 million.
	The final RAP report for 2004–05 was published on 28 February 2006 and is available on the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre's website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/commcare05adultengrepcssr.

Unborn Babies

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research she has assessed on the extent to which unborn babies are actively learning about the outside world while in the womb.

Caroline Flint: The Department is aware of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' (RCOG) report, "Fetal Awareness, Report of a Working party" (1997) and the Medical Research Council's "Report of the MRC Expert group on Fetal Pain" (2001).
	The RCOG's working party concluded that it is not possible for the fetus to be aware of events before 26 weeks' gestation.

Vaccination Programme

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the annual saving resulting from withdrawal in the UK of the universal TB vaccination programme in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006.

Caroline Flint: Funding for immunisation services including the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination programme, form part of the annual allocation to primary care trusts (PCT). PCTs are responsible for the management of those monies and running of immunisation programmes. As a result of the changes to the BCG vaccination programme, PCTs will redirect monies to reflect how the BCG programme will be implemented within their PCT.

EU Programmes (Dorset)

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what funding Dorset has received from EU programmes over the last three years; from which EU programmes; and how much was received from each.

Phil Woolas: Dorset, including the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth and Poole, has received a total of £7.461 million funding in grant paid from EU programmes in the last three calendar years, 2003, 2004 and 2005. The funding is shown, for each programme and calendar year, in the following table. These figures include only Dorset projects and not other region-wide projects or projects that cover more than one county including Dorset for which it is not possible to apportion to administrative areas the grant paid. The figures are for EU grant paid only and do not include UK Government domestic matching funding.
	
		
			 £ million 
			 EU programme 2003 2004 2005 Total 2003–05 
		
		
			 Objective 3 1.198 3.095 1.213 5.506 
			 Leader+ 0.216 0.202 0.221 0.639 
			 England Rural  Development Programme 0.377 0.399 0.540 1.316

Home Information Packs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 7 March 2006, Official Report, column 1360W. to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on home information packs, for what reasons his estimate of the annual requirement for home information packs differs from the Regulatory Impact Assessment's estimate of 1.8 million.

Yvette Cooper: The estimate within the regulatory impact assessment published with the draft Housing Bill was based on industry estimates and our own research into market activity at that time. The more recent estimate of 1.44 million packs being required when the statutory scheme is introduced is based on the current level of sales recorded by the Land Registry.
	ODPM will continue working with key stakeholders to ensure that any significant changes in housing market activity are taken into account when estimating the number of HIPs that will be needed and other impacts on industry.

Local Government Structures

Keith Vaz: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the future of two-tier local governance arrangements.

Phil Woolas: We are currently engaged in a wide ranging debate about local governance, including the future of two-tier arrangements in the shire areas. We intend to finalise our position around the middle of the year at the same time as the publication of the proposed White Paper

Homelessness

John Leech: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many people are classed as homeless in (a) Manchester and (b) Withington constituency.

Yvette Cooper: Information about local authorities' actions under homelessness legislation is collected in respect of households, rather than persons, and at local authority rather than constituency level.
	This is summarised in a quarterly Statistical Release, the latest of which was published by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on 13 March. A supplementary table presents key information at local authority level, including outcomes of all decisions made between 1 October and 31 December 2005, and numbers in temporary accommodation on 31 December 2005. Copies are available in the House of Commons Library, and from the ODPM website at:
	http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index.asp?id:=1002882&PressNoticeID=2095
	The duty owed to a person accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need is to secure suitable accommodation. If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority may secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available. As an alternative to the provision of temporary accommodation some authorities arrange for households to remain in their current accommodation (homeless at home), until a settled solution becomes available.
	Information is also collected separately by the department on the number of people who sleep rough, that is, those who are literally roofless on a single night. In April 2005 Manchester City Council carried out a count of rough sleepers and counted 7 persons sleeping rough. No information is available at constituency level and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Oil-Fired Technical Association

Graham Stringer: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the timetable is for the formal review of Oil-Fired Technical Association prior to its registration.

Jim Fitzpatrick: pursuant to the answer given on 16 February 2006, Official Report, column 2243W
	The next review of the scheme will be in the context of its seeking accreditation from the United Kingdom Advisory Service, which must be achieved by 1 April 2008 at the latest.

Planning (Disused Airfields)

John Pugh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what factors led to the change of planning guidance on the use of disused airports for the building of domestic units.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Member on 20 March 2006, Official Report, column 67W.

"Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice"

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many copies of the consultation paper "Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice" were distributed by her Department; if she will list those who were sent copies; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: 491 copies of the consultation paper and draft Code of Practice have so far been sent to private individuals and professional organisations and associations in the healthcare, welfare and voluntary sectors. A detailed list of these organisations can be found at the front of the consultation paper on the Mental Capacity Act draft Code of Practice. We anticipate further copies being sent out as the consultation period progresses.

"Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice"

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much was spent by her Department on producing the consultation paper "Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice"; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: We have therefore produced copies of the draft code of practice and the accompanying consultation paper in English, Welsh versions, as well as producing Easy Read information on the draft code. We have also produced audio versions of this Easy Read information. The total cost for this was £44,000.

Electoral Reform

Eric Pickles: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what (a) changes to past electoral practices, (b) pilots and (c) new rules on electoral fraud she expects to be ratified in (i) primary and (ii) secondary legislation and operational for the May 2006 local elections.

Bridget Prentice: The information is as follows.
	(a) The Electoral Administration Bill currently before Parliament contains a number of measures that affect electoral practices and address electoral fraud. The Bill will not be in force before the May 2006 local elections. The Local Elections (Principal Areas and Parishes and Communities) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Rules 2006 change the hours of polling at local, parish and community council elections from 8 am to 9 pm to 7 am to 10 pm. The rules were made on 16 February and will come into force on 24 March, and will apply at the May 2006 local elections.
	(b) A number of local authorities are piloting at the May 2006 local elections provisions included in the Electoral Administration Bill. These include:
	the use of ballot papers without counterfoils;
	the use of a postal voting statement for postal votes signed only by the elector, instead of the traditional declaration of identity;
	a marked register of returned postal votes to be made available after the close of poll; and
	the signing for ballot papers at polling stations.
	(c) The Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2006 contain a range of measures that improve access to the electoral process and the security of postal voting. They were made on 9 March and will come into force on 23 March, and will apply at the May 2006 local elections. The provisions that prevent postal vote fraud are:
	electoral administrators will be required to confirm in writing the outcome of postal vote applications;
	postal voters will have to give a reason for the re-direction of their postal vote;
	the closing date for postal vote applications will be moved from 6 to 11 days before polling day to give administrators more time to check applications;
	electoral administrators may check signatures on postal vote applications against any other signatures they may hold.
	(The 10 new measures in the Electoral Administration Bill that tackle electoral fraud and will come into affect after the Bill receives Royal Assent are:
	there will be a new offence of falsely applying for a postal or proxy vote;
	there will be new secrecy warnings on postal and proxy voting papers to deter any attempt unlawfully to influence another person's vote;
	ballot papers will have a security mark and a barcode to enable quick security checks for stolen postal votes;
	after every election a list of all those who voted by post will be published which will enable individuals to check that their vote was counted. And in an investigation the police will be able to check up with any individual whether they did actually vote by post or whether their vote was stolen;
	there will be a new criminal offence of supplying false information or failing to supply information to the electoral registration officer at any time;
	there will be a new, strengthened offence of undue influence which will make it easier to prosecute, even if the undue influence does not effect the way someone votes;
	the police will be given more time to carry out investigations into electoral fraud—increased from one to two years;
	voters will have to sign for their ballot paper at the polling station to deter fraudsters and allow signatures to be checked if there is suspicion of fraud;
	electoral administrators will have clear new powers to cross check applications to register to vote against other information the council holds—to check whether the person trying to register does actually exist and live at that address;
	there will be a pilot programme to try out a new system of making people sign and give their date of birth before they get on the electoral register.)

Consultants

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list departmental projects conducted by consultants in each year since 2000; what the cost was in each case; and what the total cost of employing consultants was in each year.

Charles Clarke: Information on whether departmental projects are conducted by consultants or Home Office staff is not held centrally and to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost.
	The information held by the Home Office on it's spending on consultants is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2000–01 27,877,286 
			 2001–02 21,147,058 
			 2002–03 (44)— 
			 2003–04 106,800,000 
			 2004–05 46,900,000 
		
	
	(44) Not held
	We do not hold information on the Department's total expenditure on consultants for 2002–03 and to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost.
	The best information available for the financial year 2003–04 from interrogation of the Business and Accounting Strategic System (BASS), indicates that the cost of external consultants to the department in 2003–04 was £106.8 million.
	The best information available for the financial year 2004–05 from the interrogation of the Adelphi Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system Accounts Payable Module indicates that the cost of external consultants to the Department was £46.9 million.
	The Department awards contracts in open competition according to the EU Procurement Regulations based on best value for money. The use of external consultants in the Home Office provides the Department with specialist knowledge, skill, capacity and technical expertise that is not otherwise available in house.

Departmental Expenditure

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent by his Department on media training in each year since 1997–98.

Charles Clarke: The costs of Press Office media training are as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 Financial year Total spend 
		
		
			 1997–98 268 
			 1998–99 6,204 
			 1999–2000 13,152 
			 2000–01 20,534 
			 2001–02 27,777 
			 2002–03 14,764 
			 2003–04 22,226 
			 2004–05 27,234 
		
	
	The above costs cover the main media training suppliers used by the Press Office. Other costs cannot be provided due to disproportionate cost.

Brazil

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he had with the President of Brazil during his recent visit regarding (a) gun control, (b) gun-related violence in Brazil, (c) the arms trade and (d) the potential for the UN Arms Trade Treaty.

Douglas Alexander: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary did not discuss these issues with the President of Brazil during his recent visit to the UK. However, during the visit my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and President Lula did agree a Joint Statement in which they reasserted their belief in the shared values of "democracy and the rule of law" and their "recognition of the link between development and peace, security, human rights and social justice".
	With these shared values in mind, we have ongoing discussions with Brazil on gun control, gun-related violence and the arms trade. We have discussed the International Arms Trade Treaty with Brazil on several occasions and expressed our support for the start of a formal UN process leading to a treaty on the trade in all conventional arms. Brazil participated in the meeting of experts on such a treaty hosted by the Government in May 2005.

Guantanamo Bay

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the legality of interrogation techniques used at Guantanamo Bay detention centre.

Jack Straw: holding answer 14 March 2006
	We are not in a position to make a full independent assessment of the interrogation techniques used at Guantanamo Bay. Serious concerns have been expressed about them in several quarters, for example in a report issued by five holders of mandates of special procedures of the UN Commission on Human Rights last month. But we note that on 5 December the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice confirmed that it is US policy to comply with the UN Convention Against Torture. The US Detainee Treatment Act, enacted on 30 December 2005, provides that no individual in the custody or under the physical control of the US Government, regardless of nationality or physical location, shall be subject to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. On signing the Act, President Bush said it made a matter of statute what was already US Government policy. Responding to the UN report last month, the US Government
	"profoundly objects to the Report both in terms of process and of substance and underscores that the Report's factual and legal assertions are inaccurate and flawed".
	We continue to discuss counter terrorism and human rights issues, including the handling of detainees, with the US Government on a regular basis.

Jericho Monitoring Mission

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the most recent assessment his Department has made of the security of the UK monitors at Jericho Prison was in relation to (a) the prisoners, (b) the Palestinian prison and security forces, (c) other Palestinian groups, (d) Israeli forces and (e) others; and whether these assessments were different from those made 12 months previously.

Kim Howells: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to her on 17 March 2006, Official Report, column 2532W. We assessed that the risk of our monitors being kidnapped had increased in recent months. In December 2005, we learned of plans by militant groups to kidnap the monitors. This was consistent with the sharp rise we had seen in kidnaps elsewhere in the Occupied Territories, which have included British nationals. In late 2005, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) kidnapped two teachers, demanding the release of Ahmed Sa'adat, one of the detainees. It was also increasingly clear that the Palestinian Authority (PA) were unwilling to take any action against those involved.
	We requested that the monitors and six detainees were moved to another area of the prison to provide additional security for our monitors. I refer my hon. Friend to a copy of the letter we have placed in the Library of the House. However, this was not implemented. With the Palestinian Legislative election in January the risks to UK and US monitors increased further. During the election campaigns, the prisoners repeatedly, and inaccurately, accused the UK and US of illegally detaining them. After Ahmed Sa'adat was elected, PFLP and Hamas called for the release of political prisoners. There was a heightened risk of the PA unilaterally releasing the prisoners. The Government of Israel had made public commitments not to allow the prisoners to go free and we were concerned the monitors could be caught up in an arrest operation.
	This information, plus the knowledge that the current location of our monitors was unsafe, all contributed to the decision to withdraw. The failure of the PA to address our concerns despite repeated attempts left us in an untenable position. Ultimately the safety of our personnel had to take priority.

UN Rapid Response

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken by his Department to improve the UN's capacity for the rapid deployment of troops for peacekeeping and peace-enforcement missions.

Jack Straw: The UK supports development of an effective rapid deployment capability in support of UN peacekeeping, and this was endorsed by the leaders of all UN member states at the World Summit in September 2005. The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) is developing three options: the provision of a rapid deployment capability by regional organisations; the provision of a short-term capability by one or more individual countries and the cooperation arrangements between UN missions in the same region.
	Our Mission to the UN is supporting DPKO's work on all these options through provision of bilateral UK advice and participation in a consultation group of interested member states.
	We are closely involved in the development of regional rapid reaction capabilities. Within the EU, we have been at the forefront of the development of the EU's rapid response capabilities. In particular, the UK continues to take a leading role in the development of the EU Battlegroups initiative which should reach full operational capability in 2007. While an EU capability, Battlegroups can also be deployed at short notice and on a short term basis in response to a request from the UN.
	In the African Union (AU), the joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development and the Ministry of Defence Conflict Prevention Pools are funding technical and financial assistance in setting up the AU's African Standby Force.
	Progress has also been made in the area of cooperation arrangements between UN missions. The UK has supported recent Security Council decisions authorising the immediate redeployment of a force from the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to respond to the deteriorating security situation in Côte d'lvoire, and for provision to be made within UNMIL for a rapidly deployable contingency force for security of the Sierra Leone Special Court.

Landlord's Energy Savings Allowance

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate his Department has made of the likely (a) number and (b) value of claims for Landlord's Energy Savings Allowance prior to its introduction; and how many landlords have taken up the allowance since its introduction;
	(2)  how many energy efficiency measures have been installed since the Landlord's Energy Savings Allowance was launched in 2004, broken down by measure; [R]
	(3)  what steps HM Revenue and Customs is taking to improve take up of the Landlord's Energy Savings Allowance. [R]

John Healey: The cost to the Exchequer of claims for the Landlord's Energy Saving Allowance was negligible for 2004–05, and estimated at £10 million a year for 2005–06 and 2006–07 at the time of Budget 2004. Detailed figures on the total value of claims made since April 2004 are not yet available.
	The Landlord's Energy Saving Allowance can be claimed by making an entry in the appropriate box in the self-assessment tax return. Detailed information about making claims is given in the guidance notes for those returns.

Small Firms

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what definition of a small firm his Department uses.

John Healey: There is no single definition of a small firm. Terms such as "small firm" and "SME" (small and medium-sized enterprise) are regularly used. The Department makes use of both of the most common definitions: those provided by the European Union and the Companies Act 1985. The European Commission definition is based on headcount, turnover, balance sheet total and independence criteria. The Companies Act 1985 defines small firms for the purpose of certain exemptions from accounting and auditing requirements and is not applied universally.
	These definitions can be found at http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/enterprise_policy/sme_definition/index _en.htm and http://www.dti.gov.uk/cld/audit.htm. Some policies utilise other criteria in order to target specific populations that may also fall within the definitions cited above.

Tax Credits

Tom Levitt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many cases procedures for clawing back overpayments of tax credits were initiated in each of the past 12 months for which records are available in (a) High Peak constituency and (b) the UK.

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in how many cases procedures for clawing back overpayments of tax credits were initiated in (a) Mid-Bedfordshire, (b) the country of Bedfordshire and (c) the UK in each of the past 12 months for which records are available; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The latest information on the number of overpayments by constituency at April 2004 is published in "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics: Finalised Awards 2003–04—Supplement on Payments in 2003–04". This publication can be found at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-payments-0304.pdf
	This information is not yet available for 2004–05, but will be published in May 2006.
	HMRC will seek recovery of an overpayment in line with Code of Practice 26, 'What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?' The code can be found at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/cop26.pdf

Aircraft

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the Royal Air Force capability is in respect of (a) offensive and (b) defensive aircraft;
	(2)  what the Royal Air Force capability requirement is for (a) offensive and (b) defensive aircraft for (i) 2010 and (ii) 2012.

Adam Ingram: The July 2004 White Paper "Delivering Security in a Changing World: Future Capabilities" (Cm 6269) set out planned force level requirements of 64 offensive support aircraft and 20 air defence fast jet aircraft. This capability is delivered largely by the Royal Air Force, though Joint Force Harrier is provided jointly by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy. There are no plans to change these force level requirements before 2012.

Replacement Warhead (Aldermaston)

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on the reliable replacement warhead at Aldermaston; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: There is no programme at Aldermaston to develop a new warhead.
	As we said in the 1998 Strategic Defence Review ("supporting essay 5 paragraph 14"), we maintain a minimum capability at the Atomic Weapons Establishment to design and produce a replacement for the current Trident warhead, should that prove necessary. No decisions on any replacement for Trident have yet been taken.